Beyond that, question marks abound. It's highly unlikely they'll be able to hold their home opener Sept. 18 at the Superdome - and they may not be able to play there at all this season after the stadium was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

So that first game against the New York Giants could be at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Or at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Or even at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

And all of those sites could host other home games for the Saints, who escaped the hurricane by flying with their families last weekend to San Jose, Calif. New Orleans plays at Oakland on Thursday night in its final exhibition game.

While the Saints and NFL officials have been discussing a variety of alternatives, they haven't talked yet with many of the people at the proposed sites.

"We can say is LSU an option, yeah, but is it an option with them?" Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said Wednesday by phone from San Jose. "That's the next hurdle. We haven't crossed that hurdle yet."

Only one hurdle has been crossed.

Following the Raiders game, the Saints will go to San Antonio, where they will stay at the same hotel they stayed at last season when Hurricane Ivan chased them out of New Orleans in the second week of the regular season.

The Saints will also use the same practice facilities at Trinity University, so they will have, as Bensel put it, "a certain comfort level with where we are."

That would seem to make the Alamodome, which holds 65,000 for football, a logical alternative, although it's about 550 miles from New Orleans, farther than the NFL would like.

But at this point, no one really knows the options.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and league officials have discussed the situation over the past few days. Location hasn't been the most important topic.

"We've been talking about how we as a league can assist with relief efforts," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "Not only for Saints players and officials and their families, but also for a lot of other players in the league who live or have families in the region."

The Saints aren't the only ones in sports affected by the damage done to the 65,000-seat Superdome.

Bowl Championship Series spokesman Bob Burda said Sugar Bowl officials hope to meet within the next few weeks to talk about what to do with the game scheduled for Jan. 2 in the Superdome.

"It's just too early on their end to even speculate," said Burda, adding that bowl officials had been in contact with BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg.

It's unlikely officials would want to let the Sugar Bowl leave Louisiana, even for just a year. Independence Stadium, home of the Independence Bowl, in Shreveport has been renovated in recent years and holds about 53,000. Tiger Stadium could also be a plausible option, with a capacity of almost 92,000.